Money Detective
For everyday Australian households

Keep more of the money you already earn.

Compare your bills, uncover avoidable costs and use simple, Australian-made tools to see what you can safely spend—without complicated budgeting or hours of research.

Start saving money Try a Free Budget

Free comparison tools · No sign-up required · Instant digital downloads

Payday Buffer and Annual Bills Planner displayed on a laptop in a warm Australian home
One clear place to begin

What would make money feel easier today?

Choose the outcome you need. We’ll point you to the most useful first step.

01I want to cut household costsCompare bills, subscriptions and plans with free tools that make the fine print clearer.Explore free tools → 02I want to feel organisedSee what is safe to spend each payday and prepare for the bills that catch households out.Meet the Payday Buffer → 03I’d like to start freeTry a simple fortnightly budget with a clear dashboard and no sign-up.Download the free budget →
Why Money Detective
Made forAustralian households
No surprisesClear, upfront pricing
See it firstPreview before you buy
Ready when you areInstant digital access
Real supportHelp from the creator
Free tools

Start with a cost you can make clearer

Use one focused tool at a time to compare a bill, understand a plan or spot costs that may no longer be earning their place.

100% Free No Sign-Up Takes 2 Minutes
Alex B reviewing a household notebook beside a laptop at home
Money Detective

Built from real household habits—not perfect budgets.

Our story

Saving money should not feel like another full-time job.

Money Detective began after I realised how many household costs had quietly been left on autopilot.

By using cashback and grocery rewards more intentionally, reviewing renewals and comparing bigger bills rather than simply accepting them, I found practical ways to make our household money go further.

The bigger surprise came from insurance. After years with the same provider, I compared new quotes for home and contents, car and health cover and found better-value options that reduced our household costs by around $350 a month.

Personal household result $350 per month

After comparing home and contents, car and health insurance.

A personal result only. Savings vary depending on your circumstances, location, cover, insurer, excesses, eligibility and the quotes available at the time.

Money Detective was created to make those practical checks easier for other Australian households—without guilt, jargon or hours of research.

Read our story →

The simple approach I use

Three practical habits that keep household costs visible.

Shop intentionally

Use cashback and rewards only for purchases already planned.

Make rewards work harder

Time larger grocery shops around eligible bonus points, cashback rates or monthly discount offers.

Review the big bills

Re-quote insurance, utilities and subscriptions before renewal, not only when money feels tight.

Downloadable templates

Practical spreadsheets that do the thinking with you

Built around real Australian pay cycles and household costs—not another blank budget grid. Preview every dashboard before you choose.

Works In Excel & Google Sheets Real Dashboards, Not Just Tables Instant Download
Free Fortnightly Budget dashboard preview
A useful place to begin
Try the Free Fortnightly Budget
Start with income, essentials and savings in one calm dashboard. No sign-up, no catch, and no payment details.
Download the free budget →
Flagship
Payday Buffer & Annual Bills Planner dashboard

Payday Buffer & Annual Bills Planner

"How much can I actually spend before my next payday?" — answered in one number, every pay cycle.

  • Works to your real pay cycle — weekly, fortnightly or monthly
  • Auto-spreads car rego, insurance & Christmas into per-pay contributions
  • Emergency fund tracker with progress bar
  • Bank statement import with auto-categorisation
  • Live Safe-to-Spend dashboard with charts
$19.95 one-time payment
See How It Works →
Household Bill Tracker dashboard

Household Bill Tracker

Every bill, one place — with an auto-warning before anything renews or lapses.

  • Flags renewals due within 30 days automatically
  • Converts any billing frequency to a true monthly cost
  • Visual dashboard — spend by category, at a glance
  • Bank statement import built in
$12.95 one-time payment
See How It Works →
Subscription & Cashback Tracker dashboard

Subscription & Cashback Tracker

See what you're really paying for — and what you're actually getting back.

  • Auto-flags subscriptions you've marked as unused
  • Cashback log with a running total across every platform
  • Visual dashboard — spend and earnings, side by side
  • Bank statement import built in
$12.95 one-time payment
See How It Works →
Debt Payoff & Savings Planner dashboard

Debt Payoff & Savings Planner

A real month-by-month payoff simulation — not a guess. Know your actual debt-free date.

  • Snowball or Avalanche method, your choice
  • Freed-up minimum payments automatically roll to the next debt
  • Total interest you'll pay, calculated exactly
  • Visual payoff curve — watch the balance drop to zero
$14.95 one-time payment
See How It Works →
Couples' Shared Money Planner dashboard

Couples' Shared Money Planner

Split bills fairly, and finally stop doing the maths on who owes who.

  • 50/50, proportional-to-income, or custom % splitting
  • Automatic settlement page — exact amount, exact direction
  • Works with different incomes, no awkward conversations
  • Visual dashboard — shared spend by category
$14.95 one-time payment
See How It Works →
The 3-Minute Budget dashboard

The 3-Minute Budget

Three categories. One page. Built for when a normal budget feels like too many decisions.

  • Bills, Spending, Savings — nothing more to decide
  • One "Left This Week" number, no red warnings or guilt
  • Everything visible on one screen, no digging through tabs
  • Bank statement import, simplified to match
$9.95 one-time payment
See How It Works →
Three of the Money Detective dashboard templates, fanned out
Get all six
The Complete Money Detective Toolkit
Payday Buffer · Bill Tracker · Subscription & Cashback · Debt Payoff · Couples' Planner · The 3-Minute Budget
$85.70 $49.95
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The Money Back Guide

Stop Leaving Money On The Table

50+ real ways Australian households claw back thousands a year — no coffee-cutting, no giving up the things you enjoy.

  • Cashback apps & loyalty stacking, done properly
  • Fuel-price timing tricks that actually save $15–20 a tank
  • Government rebates most people never claim
  • Energy plan switching, explained in plain English
  • 11 categories, all Australia-specific, all current
Commonwealth Bank estimates $10 billion in government benefits goes unclaimed by Australians every year — this guide shows you exactly where to look.
$15
one-time payment
Instant download   Read on any device   Secure checkout
By completing this purchase, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and acknowledge the Privacy Policy.
Australian Money Back Guide ebook
50+money-saving
strategies
Get paid to shop

Cashback & Rewards Platforms

Free browser add-ons and apps that help you get more out of the money you're already spending — sign up once, then click through before you shop to make sure it counts.

Free To Join Stacks With Sales Takes 2 Minutes

ShopBack Live

Cashback at hundreds of Australian retailers, plus regular bonus-rate deals.

Sign Up →

TopCashback Live

Another major Australian cashback platform, worth comparing rates on big purchases.

Sign Up →

Coupert Live

Auto-applies coupon codes and stacks cashback on top at checkout.

Sign Up →

Honey Live

Browser extension that finds and applies the best coupon code automatically.

Sign Up →

Capital One Shopping

Price comparison and cashback browser extension, plus deal alerts.

Learn More →

1
Sign up with the link below
2
Shop as normal — cashback tracks automatically
Sign Up
It's totally free to join
We receive a small cashback of our own when you sign up through our link — it helps keep Money Detective's tools free for everyone.
Did You Know?

Australia Has Billions in Unclaimed Money

Not a service we offer — just genuinely worth five minutes of your time. Money quietly gets left behind in old bank accounts, forgotten super funds, and lapsed insurance policies. It's checked for free through official government tools, no middleman needed.

$2.7 billion
Held by ASIC in lost bank accounts, shares & life insurance
$18.9 billion
In lost super, across 7.3 million accounts (ATO, June 2025)
7 years
Of inactivity before a bank account is flagged as unclaimed

Once money reaches ASIC, it's held indefinitely — some unclaimed accounts date back to the 1950s, and there's no deadline to claim what's yours. Each state also holds its own separate register for things like unpaid wages, bonds and refunds.

Search ASIC's Unclaimed Money (Moneysmart)
Lost bank accounts, shares & life insurance — free official search
Find Lost Super (via myGov)
Check the ATO's records for any super accounts you've lost track of
State Unclaimed Money Registers
Each state/territory has its own — this one's NSW, search "unclaimed money" + your state for others
Everyday savings

Shopping Hacks

Small habits that add up over a month — no coupon-clipping required.

At The Supermarket

  • Check the unit price (per 100g/L), not the shelf price — bigger packs aren't always cheaper.
  • Shop the half-price cycle — most staples rotate on sale roughly every 6–8 weeks.
  • Stock up on pantry basics only when they're on special, not out of habit.
  • Compare home brand vs name brand on staples like flour, rice, and tinned tomatoes — the gap is often bigger than the quality difference.
  • Shop with a list and a rough budget — unplanned trips are where overspending happens.
  • Check the reduced-to-clear section first for that day's meals.

Tips & Tricks

  • RACQ, RACV, and similar memberships often include discounted gift cards for major retailers — check before paying full price.
  • Electricity providers sometimes run their own rewards programs with discounted gift cards too — worth checking your account, not assuming there's nothing there.
  • Coles and Woolworths both run 10% off your shop once a month for eligible rewards members — time a bigger shop around it.
  • Boost offers in Everyday Rewards or Flybuys before you shop — they knock extra dollars off specific items that week.
  • Buy on special, not on impulse, then stack it with a cashback app for a second layer of savings on the same purchase.
Fresh from the desk

The Blog

Short, practical reads — no fluff, just what actually saves you money.

Energy Bills

Why Your Solar Credit Drops Off A Cliff

Tiered feed-in tariffs, explained in plain English.
Insurance

What To Check Before Switching Insurers

The fine print that actually matters.
Subscriptions

Five Subscriptions Worth Cancelling

An easy quarterly audit habit.